Sheila L. Chamberlain

Chamberlain grew up in West Germany. She attended Fort Knox High School.[1] Her father was a United States Army engineer and her mother owned a business.[2] Her cousin was Captain Luke Weathers, the only person from Memphis to become one of the original Tuskegee Airman.[3][4][5] Chamberlain studied at Spelman College. She graduated magna cum laude from Spelman College in 1981.[6] She was a postgraduate at the University of Oklahoma.[3] Chamberlain attended flight school, where she was mentored by Willa Brown.[2] She was the fifth African-American woman to graduate from the United States Army flight school.[5][7]

In 1985, Chamberlain was made the United States Army first black woman combat intelligence pilot.[6][8] Chamberlain spent fifteen years of service in the United States and overseas.[2][9] She completed three tours in Grenada, Korea and Persian Gulf War.[9] She held two command posts.[3] Chamberlain was part of the unit that stabilised South Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.[3] She was the first woman to be elected to the Tuskegee Airmen in 1998.[2] Chamberlain was a member of the Fort Rucker section of the Tuskegee Airmen. After Hurricane Andrew, Chamberlain decided to retire from the air force and returned to higher education.[10][11] She earned a Juris Doctor at the University of Miami School of Law in 1996.[6][12] After graduating, she worked as a senate legislative assistant. She ran as a democratic candidate for state senator.[13][14]

She gave testimony to the United States House of Representatives on why women should be assigned to aviation units.[3] A year after she left, the United States Department of Defense announced that women would be permitted to fly combat aircraft.[3] She was part of the Women Veterans Organisation.[15]